Mastering Ruby on Rails: A Beginner's Guide

✍ Scribed by Sufyan Bin Uzayr

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2022
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 341
• Series: Mastering Computer Science
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

There is no shortage of programming languages and frameworks out there. But in the midst of all this, Ruby on Rails stands out. Despite losing out on the top spot to other contenders, Ruby on Rails has earned for itself a position of repute and a robust user base.

Ever since its debut in 2004, Ruby on Rails has rapidly become one of the most impactful and popular tools for building dynamic web applications. Rails owes much of its success to its compact design and the usage of the underlying Ruby language. It effectively creates a domain-specific language for writing web applications. As a result, many common web programming tasks--such as generating HTML, making data models, and routing URLs--are easier with Rails.

Although its outstanding capabilities have made Ruby on Rails one of the world's most popular web development frameworks, some might still find it challenging to learn and use. Mastering Ruby on Rails: A Beginner's Guide could be just the right solution for that. Whatever your previous web development experience is, Mastering Ruby on Rails can guide you to true Rails proficiency. It will help you to:

• Install and set up your Rails development environment

• Go beyond generated code to build Rails applications from scratch

• Effectively use the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern

• Master the Ruby programming skills all Rails developers need

• Define high-quality site layouts and data models

• Add social features and navigate Asynchronous Javascript and XML (Ajax)

Mastering Ruby on Rails will walk you through Rails' inner workings and equip you to tackle complicated projects with solutions that are well-tested, adaptive, and easy to maintain. This book starts by explaining critical points behind object-oriented programming and builds toward creating a full Rails application within a few chapters. By the end of this book, besides in-depth knowledge of Rails, you will also have a basic understanding of many supporting technologies such as SQL, web frameworks, and Integrated Development Environment (IDE).

You will be able to quickly grasp the Rails methodology by focusing on the development from the point of view of the beginner-level developer. Additionally, you will be provided with a reliable roadmap for migrating your applications, skill set, and development procedures to the newer, more flexible programming platform that Rails offers. Moreover, learning Rails development independently will let you use all the qualities like creativeness, critical thinking, and project management.

Mastering Ruby on Rails serves as a complete guide to exploring Ruby on Rails, expanding your set of skills and experience that will only benefit you throughout your professional life. If you are looking to get into the fascinating world of Rails development, Mastering Ruby on Rails is the right pick for you!

Learn more about our other Mastering titles at:

https: //www.routledge.com/Mastering-Computer-Science/book-series/MCS

✦ Table of Contents

Cover
Half Title
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
About the Editor
CHAPTER 1: Introduction to Ruby on Rails
WHAT IS RUBY AND RUBY ON RAILS?
MAJOR FEATURES
RAILS VS OTHER FRAMEWORKS
Ruby on Rails Vs Python
Ruby on Rails Vs PHP
Ruby on Rails Vs Java
Ruby on Rails vs JavaScript
Ruby on Rails Vs Node.js
Ruby on Rails Vs Ruby
Pros and Cons: Ruby
Pros
Cons
Pros and Cons: Ruby on Rails
Pros
Cons
INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION OF RUBY ON RAILS
Creating a Sample Blog Application
Saying “Hello” in Rails
MVC
DATABASE MIGRATIONS
CHAPTER 2: Getting Started with Ruby on Rails
BASIC RUBY ON RAILS SYNTAX
Data Type
Naming Convention
Input and Output
Methods
Class
Model (ActiveRecord)
View (ActionView)
Controller (ActionController)
ADDING FIELDS
Generic Search Form
Helpers for Generating Field and Form Elements
Checkboxes
Radio Buttons
Other Helpers of Interest
Dealing with Model Objects
The fields_for Helper
ADDING VALIDATIONS
Skipping Validations
Validation Helpers
acceptance
validates_associated
confirmation
exclusion
format
inclusion
length
numericality
presence
absence
uniqueness
validates_with
validates_each
Common Validation Options
allow_nil
allow_blank
message
on
Strict Validations
Conditional Validation
Using a Proc with :if and :unless
Grouping Conditional Validations
Combining Validation Conditions
GENERATED FILES
CHAPTER 3: Ruby Data Types
STRING
Expression Substitution
General Delimited Strings
Escape Characters
Character Encoding
String Built-in Methods
NUMBERS
Integers
Floating-Point Numbers
Ruby Rational Numbers
Ruby Nil Value
ARRAYS AND HASHES
Array Built-in Methods
Hashes
Hash Built-in Methods
SYMBOLS
CHAPTER 4: Basics of Language
VARIABLES
Ruby Variable Naming Conventions
Ruby Global Variables
Ruby Instance Variables
Ruby Class Variables
Ruby Local Variables
Ruby Constants
Ruby Pseudo-Variables
OPERATORS
Ruby Arithmetic Operators
Ruby Comparison Operators
Ruby Assignment Operators
Ruby Parallel Assignment
Ruby Bitwise Operators
Ruby Logical Operators
Ruby Ternary Operator
Ruby Range Operators
Ruby defined? Operators
Double Colon “::” Operator
Ruby Operators Precedence
BLOCKS AND ITERATORS
Blocks and Methods
BEGIN and END Blocks
Iterators
Ruby Each Iterator
Ruby Collect Iterator
Procs
Lambdas
COMMENTS
The Shebang
CONTROL STRUCTURES
break Statement
next Statement
redo Statement
retry Statement
return statement
throw/catch Statement
CHAPTER 5: Working with Database
OBJECT-RELATIONAL MAPPING ON RUBY ON RAILS
Active Record
Advantages
Disadvantages
WHAT ABOUT SQL?
How to Make a PostgreSQL Database in Ruby
How to Integrate MySQL With Ruby on Rails
How to Integrate SQLite With Ruby on Rails?
Best Practices of Ruby Database Development
Typical Mistakes of Ruby on Rails Database Development
ACTIVE RECORD BASICS
Naming Conventions
Creating Active Record Models
CRUD: Reading and Writing Data
Validations
Migrations
Writing a Migration
Creating a Join Table
Changing Columns
Column Modifiers
Using the Change Method
Active Record and Referential Integrity
Old Migrations
CHAPTER 6: Ruby on Rails IDEs
MOBILE DEVELOPMENT IDEs
CLOUD IDEs
PAID IDE OPTIONS
FREE IDE OPTIONS
MIDDLEMAN GENERATOR
The Skeleton
Gemfile
config.ru
Production Asset Hashing
Templates
File Size Optimization
Custom Extensions
Basic Extension
Adding Methods to config.rb
Adding Helpers
Sitemap Manipulators
Callbacks
after_configuration
after_build
APPRAISAL
INDEX